Long Island factories seek candidates for job openings, stage educational events
Robert Kufner, president and CEO of Designatronics Inc., right, shows Christopher Fusco, Nassau County commissioner of labor, around the Hicksville factory as machinist Jonathan Corda, far right, works on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Executives of Designatronics Inc., a Hicksville-based manufacturer, are hoping a series of educational events on Long Island this month will help fill 10 current job openings and future ones.
Robert C. Kufner, the company’s president and CEO, said, "We’re always looking for machinists, and we need to get the word out that our industry offers great careers with good pay."
He hosted a group of factory executives, nonprofit leaders and government officials on Tuesday at Designatronics’ headquarters on Duffy Avenue to announce the establishment of Manufacturing Month.
The initiative consists of two trade shows, a panel discussion and tours of shop floors at businesses in Nassau and Suffolk counties through Oct. 31. The events are aimed at introducing high school and college students, along with adults looking to change jobs, to the Island’s manufacturing sector. (More information may be found at mfgdayli.com.)
Long Island is home to 3,600 manufacturers that together have about 70,000 employees. They earn, on average, $74,200 per year, according to a report from Shital Patel, a labor market analyst in the state Department of Labor’s Hicksville office.
Subrina D. Oliver, an organizer of Manufacturing Month, said the initiative has gone from one day in October to the entire month in order to accommodate the September opening of many public schools. She is CEO of the Melville-based workforce training company O-High Technologies LLC.
"Schools that may not be able to participate on that one day now have the whole month," Oliver said. "That’s true for manufacturers as well."
The Manufacturing Day agenda, she said, has been developed by the local trade groups Ignite LI, ADDAPT NY and Long Island Bio, along with the Long Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Stony Brook University, Cradle of Aviation Museum and Suffolk County Community College.
The latter two will host trade shows on Oct. 24 and Oct. 30, respectively.
"You can go to school here, you can get a job here and you can stay on Long Island" by working in a factory, said Andy Parton, the museum’s president, referring to young people.
"We’re not importing talent from Kansas ... We need to develop the talent that’s right here," he said, responding to a Newsday question.
"We have these [jobs] that we need to fill, and it’s up to the teachers, it’s up to the guidance counselors and [school] administrators to step up" and make sure students know about the availability of factory jobs.
Makers of drugs and vitamins employed the most people in the sector last year: 11,200 jobs, up 372 from 2018, the labor department found.
Food producers employed 8,140 in 2023, and increase of 1,000 jobs from 2018, according to the labor department.
At the Hicksville event on Tuesday, Christopher S. Fusco, Nassau’s labor commissioner, said, "We have to let the educators in the school districts know that there are great careers, sustainable careers in manufacturing."
Designatronics' Kufner agreed, saying the manufacturer of gears, bearings, motors and other parts, offers student internships and training for adults who are changing careers. It employs 168 people and is looking to fill 10 jobs, including machinist positions with starting pay of $34 per hour.
"We haven’t done a great job on Long Island of developing a pipeline" of new factory workers, he told Newsday. "Manufacturing Month will hopefully help to build momentum."
Executives of Designatronics Inc., a Hicksville-based manufacturer, are hoping a series of educational events on Long Island this month will help fill 10 current job openings and future ones.
Robert C. Kufner, the company’s president and CEO, said, "We’re always looking for machinists, and we need to get the word out that our industry offers great careers with good pay."
He hosted a group of factory executives, nonprofit leaders and government officials on Tuesday at Designatronics’ headquarters on Duffy Avenue to announce the establishment of Manufacturing Month.
The initiative consists of two trade shows, a panel discussion and tours of shop floors at businesses in Nassau and Suffolk counties through Oct. 31. The events are aimed at introducing high school and college students, along with adults looking to change jobs, to the Island’s manufacturing sector. (More information may be found at mfgdayli.com.)
Long Island is home to 3,600 manufacturers that together have about 70,000 employees. They earn, on average, $74,200 per year, according to a report from Shital Patel, a labor market analyst in the state Department of Labor’s Hicksville office.
Subrina D. Oliver, an organizer of Manufacturing Month, said the initiative has gone from one day in October to the entire month in order to accommodate the September opening of many public schools. She is CEO of the Melville-based workforce training company O-High Technologies LLC.
"Schools that may not be able to participate on that one day now have the whole month," Oliver said. "That’s true for manufacturers as well."
The Manufacturing Day agenda, she said, has been developed by the local trade groups Ignite LI, ADDAPT NY and Long Island Bio, along with the Long Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Stony Brook University, Cradle of Aviation Museum and Suffolk County Community College.
The latter two will host trade shows on Oct. 24 and Oct. 30, respectively.
"You can go to school here, you can get a job here and you can stay on Long Island" by working in a factory, said Andy Parton, the museum’s president, referring to young people.
"We’re not importing talent from Kansas ... We need to develop the talent that’s right here," he said, responding to a Newsday question.
"We have these [jobs] that we need to fill, and it’s up to the teachers, it’s up to the guidance counselors and [school] administrators to step up" and make sure students know about the availability of factory jobs.
Makers of drugs and vitamins employed the most people in the sector last year: 11,200 jobs, up 372 from 2018, the labor department found.
Food producers employed 8,140 in 2023, and increase of 1,000 jobs from 2018, according to the labor department.
At the Hicksville event on Tuesday, Christopher S. Fusco, Nassau’s labor commissioner, said, "We have to let the educators in the school districts know that there are great careers, sustainable careers in manufacturing."
Designatronics' Kufner agreed, saying the manufacturer of gears, bearings, motors and other parts, offers student internships and training for adults who are changing careers. It employs 168 people and is looking to fill 10 jobs, including machinist positions with starting pay of $34 per hour.
"We haven’t done a great job on Long Island of developing a pipeline" of new factory workers, he told Newsday. "Manufacturing Month will hopefully help to build momentum."
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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